Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Spending Negotiations Hit Snag Over Medicaid Funding For Puerto Rico, Abortion Regulations
Political fights over abortion, financial regulations and Puerto Rico have slowed Republican and Democratic negotiators working on a sweeping, government-wide spending bill. President Donald Trump's tweetstorm lashing out at Democrats didn't help. (4/27)
Securing additional Medicaid dollars from Washington has been a priority for Puerto Rico as it sits on the verge of an unprecedented court-supervised bankruptcy. Mr. Trump weighed in after Democratic and GOP leadership reached an agreement to provide incremental assistance to Puerto Rico ahead of an impending health-care funding cliff on the island, according to people familiar with the matter. (Scurria, 4/27)
The details of the negotiations remain murky but disagreement was noted Thursday by both White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and Sen. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat who has been an outspoken advocate on Puerto Rico鈥檚 financial troubles and participated on a congressional task force on the issue. (Mejdrich, 4/27)
